SWTOR Impressions from the Beta Weekend

Like many of you, I spent this past weekend in front of my new computer playing the beta of Star Wars: The Old Republic.  Also like many of you, I have some impressions I would like to share.

To start with, I want to say congratulations to Bioware on making a game that makes a fantastic first impression.  The production values are high.  The voice acting is really good. The art direction is solid. And the systems, while lacking some quality-of-life niceties, seem pretty solid.

I can tell by listening to the reaction that many of my friends and fellow gamers have had that this is going to be a divisive game.  Divisive how?  Well I don't think many of the hard core, go go go go go, short-attention span gamers are going to like it much.  This game is one that wants to make you stop and smell the roses.  One of the guys that I play a lot of games with absolutely hated it.  He's also one of those guys who is extremely achievement oriented (as in getting stuff done, not in-game achievements) and it drove him nuts.  Frankly, that's OK because he tends to be a bit of a DB to play with.  Many of my other gamer friends who seem to be more like me seemed to really like the game.  And that's good, because that is the majority of what our guild is made from.  So expect to get two different reactions to this from the hardcore and the, well, let's call them the less-hardcore gamers.

As for my personal feel for the game, it totally sucked me in. The iconic music and the great visuals were only a part of it.  Gameplay was easy to learn and understand.  Most of level 1-15 is a very high-quality tutorial.  So much so that I wonder if their investment in this part of the game is justified or if like so many other games it will be mostly deserted in a few months.  But being as it's not my money they invested (well maybe in a way it was) I'm not going to second-guess them too much.

Without getting into spoilers, I did want to say that it's really nice that every class I played had a nemesis in the story to deal with.  It really helped to immerse me in the story and keep me on-task.  The Smuggler one in particular pulled me way in.  So for me, story is a winner. 

Combat was fun as well.  It mostly seemed responsive except times where there seemed to be some input lag.  When that happened it was obvious and not just a fraction of a second. You would lose input for several seconds.  My companion pulled my fat from the fire more than once.

The environment was fantastic and even though there were minor annoyances involved in the travel it felt good to be actually traveling again.  It seems to give the world weight.  I liked this.  It also made me think before I started moving around to try to maximize my time.

Character development is second to none.  And my character development I mean in the traditional book or story sense.  This was to be expected.  It's fun watching your character get more powerful too, and starting to look more and more like a badass.  I hadn't planned on playing much with the Sith Warrior before the test but since I got to play him I kinda started digging him more.  I'll definitely have a Marauder alt in my stable.

Character creation in the game actually means something here too.  In most games you spend a lot of time making the front of your character look cool, then hardly ever see it again.  In SWTOR you actually see the items and customizations that you have on your character in every story window.

I didn't try out the PVP because I am dreadful at it and at low levels I thought I'd rather spend that time in character advancement.  I did get a chance to do some groups and heroic content and I did enjoy that very much.  I would have liked a matchmaking system of some sort here but that doesn't exist in the game.  I don't know if they have plans to add this later or not.  Groups didn't seem to be very persistent.  This may change at higher levels.

I did make a guild in the game and found the guild tools to be somewhat lacking.  Maybe rudimentary by today's standards would be a fair way to put it.  There didn't seem to be a way to change rank titles or change powers that I found at first.  There are 5 default guild ranks; Guild Master, Officer, lieutenant, member, and recruit, I think it was.  I didn't notice who could invite or promote.  This is helpful information to have and maybe will be expounded on at launch.

Probably the best summary I could give you was that I logged in and started playing at 10A on Friday, and when I thought it was time for lunch at around 12, I looked up at the clock and it was 2:30.  That is the kind of immersion I want from a game.  I don't know how persistent that will be and I guess I won't until some time has passed.  I can't imagine I would stay that engrossed in anything for any long period of time but I am interested in how it transitions from a new shiny to a "I want to play this every day" or not.  The game is beautiful though, and it's obvious how much effort went into it. It posesses a high level of polish for a (pre)launch title. 

I'm planning on playing the hell out of it.  It's definitely the most interesting launch I have seen since World of Warcraft.  Seven years is a long time to wait for something new.  I do feel like Bioware raised the bar in a certain way.  Some will argue that it shares it's core mechanisms with WoW. And that isn't far from the truth.  You could counter that those mechanisms are what makes a modern MMO an MMO.  But no one since Blizzard has moved the needle this much.  I can definitly see the innovation in the game.  It's not a revolution but an evolution.  That's all most people are ready for anyway. 

Hope to see you all in game!

Deus Ex: Human Revolution First Impressions

Like a lot of the game-playing universe, I got my copy of the new Deus Ex game yesterday at launch.  Unlike a lot of the game-playing universe I usually don't play single-player shooters.  The marketing really got me on this one.  Both the amazing cinematic and the game-play footage that is out there was really appealing to me.

Here are my first impressions, some spoilers included.  

As soon as I got home from work yesterday I installed it and got busy.  I chose the medium difficutly (I think it's called "Challenge Me".  The easier level is "Tell me a Story.")  and got to it.  Soon I found myself in a firefight and yes, indeed, it's a little harder than easy.  Given a little time to mess with the controls and get used to firing that gun and I was doing a lot better.  Still not easy but definitely not impossible.  I got creative and got through some of the early firefights.  On one of them I got creative accidentally when shooting at a bad guy and I hit a poisonous gas tank.  That killed 3 guys.  Yay me.

The story progressed, and the game is very engaging. Once you get past the first stuff and you see the title screens you get your first "real" mission.  You can choose lethal or non-lethal, and close-up or ranged.  What you choose determines what weapon you get to start.  I chose close-up non-lethal.  I really enjoyed creeping and hiding and sneaking up on the bad guys.  I made a lot of mistakes at first while I figured out what did and didn't make noise, and thus revealed me.  Once I got that down, the game started to flow a little bit.  I am very patient so I would wait until the perfect time to strike.  Unless I didn't.  The game accidentally turned lethal for my opponents when I pressed Q instead of tapping Q.  The difference?  Tap=takedown, Press=kill.  Sorry, dude.  I also ruined my entrance into a room full of baddies by accidentally equipping a pistol I had picked up rather than my stun gun and shooting the guy I had just snuck up on at the door to the room.  hehe.  Hi guys!

I'm not going to go into a lot of detail but instead I want to summarize what my experience was.  

So after about 5 hours of play, I can tell you that I'm finding it very enjoyable and I am looking forward to playing more tonight.  I really like that you can choose your own style of game play.  The hacking mini game is engaging and the stealth game is very exciting to me.  The shooter part is like most every other shooter.  Having only a pistol so far has been interesting.  I've still managed a few head shots even though shooting isn't a big strength of mine.  The story is good and I like the ethical and moral dilemmas that are presented.  There's even a form of diplomacy in game.  In one quest I actually had to talk my way into a building.  I was able to do so.  The game let me know that if I failed there were alternate ways to complete the quest.

So good story, check.  Fun game play, check.  Art direction, check.  Alternative game play, check.

Based on what I have done so far, would definitely recommend it.  Expecially if you like story-driven shooters with game play options and a fun mini-game.  

Bioware Starting Run-Up to Launch?

If you are following the coming MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic you know that there has been more information lately.  That's not unusual.  At some point marketing the game has to begin its accellerated trajectory toward launch.  I have noticed a couple of things that anecdotally make me think that they are in the final "run-up" to launch.

First, a ton of my friends got beta invites yesterday.  So seriously, Bioware, where is mine?  Digressions aside, it looks like this is the start of the ramp toward the "huge" beta weekend flurry they promised us recently.

Second, I'm noticing my Bioware friends on G+ dropping updates on the 12's.  That is at noon and midnight yesterday.  And these are people that aren't even in community or marketing.  I noticed the timing when multiple of them released the same info at the same moment.  Down to the minute.

I'm not a person with a Marketing degree.  Far from it.  But when I see that kind of activity happening on the same day, I have to think that someone with one of those degrees is behind it.

Only time will tell if I am correct.  Or one of my Bioware friends.  If they wanted to tell us. :D

League of Legends, I Kinda Dig You.

If you are on Google + you may have seen me talking about League of Legends.  It's kind of taken my by surprise.  The guy that sits at the desk next to mine at work has been playing and talking about it forever.  I asked him about 6 months ago to show me how it worked, and he started talking about jungling and leveling and didn't really give me the big picture.  I kinda went "meh" and forgot about it until I was a little bored one night and none of my friends were on World of Warcraft.  So I downloaded it and decided to give it a try.

One thing that Riot Games was really smart about was they put a set of "how to play" stories and videos on their website.  Not enough to really give you any finer points but enough to get you playing.  Then there are the tutorial and the Player vs. AI games you can start out with.  These ease you into the game so your first game you aren't getting a mudhole stomped in you by an angry PVP'er.  I think a lot of games would benefit from this kind of segue from non-player to player.

I've been playing a week now.  The game is good in that it gives you the chance, through matchmaking I think, to have at least some modest success early on.  It's got an interesting approach to balance in that when you choose a Champion to play (your character on the playing field) you may or may not have a natural enemy on the other side.  That is to say that you might pick one who your opponent can't counter, or can easily counter.  As far as I can tell there is a counter to every Champion out there, so there is some luck and even educated guessing when it comes to the setup and Champion selection.

One other thing I think they did well is the item shop.  The game is free to play.  Every week or so, 10 champions from the list are available to play for no charge.  The following cycle, there are a different set to try.  If you want to you can just play the free champions every week.  Or, if you find one you really like, you can "buy" them and use them any time you like.  Also, the Champions have different skins (appearances) that you can purchase which help to fund the game.  Some of them are really creative and some even have special animations and audio.  Again, not required to progress.  The last thing that most people may use the cash shop for is boosts.  These may help you gain experience or Influence Points more quickly.  Influence points are earned as you play anyway, and are used to buy enhancements for your Champions or even new Champions.  

What I like is that nothing in the cash shop gives you any more than convenience. Going faster, looking different, or having your favorite Champions at your disposal at all times are really the only things you get there.  Since I believe in supporting the games that I play, I don't have any problem spending some money like that, so I have my favorite Champion so far, Fiddlesticks, and 2 skins for him.  One spectral Fiddle and one Pirate Fiddle.  

If you like PVP and team-based game play I can recommend this.  If you play, and would like to play with us, add me.  My summoner name is Akhaan.

One last thing.  I can't write this without props to the guys I have been playing with.  Br3ntbr0, Toxziq, and Oakstout have really helped make this game SO much more fun.  Thanks guys!

In summary, if you like team-based PVP I'd recommend this game.  Pick it up for free at League of Legends.  And if you do play, I'm looking forward to playing with you soon!

It's About Playing Together

There was a lot of kerfuffle in the community about a GamesCom interview where someone in the industry said that, in effect, single player games are dead.  I disagree.  While it may be true that they are in decline, it's pretty obvious that a lot of anticipated games coming soon are single player games.  But that isn't what this is about.

First a little background. I tend to be a pretty monogamous gamer.  I latch onto something and play it until I'm done with it.  There are some games I dabble in.  Those are usually e-sport games where I know I'll never be that competitive.  But there is something that all the games that I enjoy most have in common.  They aren't single-player games. Even the ones that have a single-player mode don't get played as single player that much.  Example:  I haven't finished the Campaign mode in Starcraft 2 yet, and I have had it since launch day.  But I have played in every season of the ladders.

So what's the point?  Well this past week I got enamored with trying League of Legends.  I found a few of my Google + friends who play and we have spent the last few nights having a ball in Vent and playing LoL.  

The more I think about it the more I realize that the game is important.  I don't want to play something just because it's a glorified chat program.  But right there next to it, on par with it, is the ability to play with others I like and share similar interests with.  It's my social time.  I don't really go out drinking any more.  It's been a generation since I really did.  I do like the occasional night out for a foosball tournament but that's not about socializing.  Unless trying to humiliate your opponent is socializing, that is.

It's the camaraderie that I get from playing with these guys (thanks, Br3ntbr0, Oakstout, and Toxziq) and enjoying gameplay and laughing and cursing that really is what matters to me.  While I am always in search of a better game what I really want is to have ALL my friends together in one place so we can do great stuff together.  And stupid stuff too.

Because that shit is funny.

Update on Thursday, August 18, 2011 at 12:20AM by Genda

As an aside, I think League of Legends is a pretty fabulous game.  I'd like to see them get some of their niggling bugs worked out, but overall it's really drawing me in.  I may play this for a while.

The Blog is Back

So it's been a while since I've written.  Lots of things have contributed to that. My employment is obviously a part of that.  So a reminder that what is here is not the opinion of my employer or anyone else.  Just me. But I am really feeling the need to write again, so we have the new site and the new hosting arrangement.  

Also, looking back at my old posts I see how prone to hyperbole my old posts were.  Jeez, so dramatic.

I'm thinking of taking this in a slightly different direction.  I am going to endeavor to do industry analysis and commentary, some game commentary, and some community stuff.  All of that while being a little less dramatic.

So, I hope you enjoy where I take this.  If you have me in your newsreader, please remove thegrouchygamer.com and use the RSS here going forward.  

I'm looking forward to getting a dialog going with you guys again.  I've really missed it.

December 15th, huh?

I wonder if SOE just told us the ship date for SWTOR.

SOE is shutting down SWG in December

According to John Smedley in an interview over at Massively, SWG is on it's last legs.

Unfortunately, on Thursday we learned that just won't be so. Sony Online Entertainment has announced that Star Wars Galaxies will be shutting down on December 15th of this year, marking what is in my mind the most significant sunset of a major MMO to date (and a personally painful one for many on the staff at Massively, including me). I know what you're thinking, and no, the impending closure is due neither to the hackings nor to a dwindling playerbase. Past the break, an audibly regretful John Smedley, President of SOE, sits down with us to chat about SWG's sunset, explaining the reasons that led to the decision and offering a new hope for the future.

Well I guess we had to see this coming.  It's not likely that LucasArts wants to have 2 MMO's licensed at the same time.  Just the same it's a shame.  There is still a lot to recommend this game, even after the ravages it has suffered over the years.

Peter Falk and this on the same day.

Shoulda stood in bed.

I'm toast.

This from Gabe over at Penny Arcade about SWTOR...

"I don’t want to drill down into too much little stuff about the game but there is one feature I have to tell you about because I think it is really cool. If someone in your party is off grabbing quests while you’re selling junk at a vendor you would have to wait for them to share the quest with you later in any other game. In SW:TOR you get a little message that someone in your party is taking a quest and do you want to join via holoprojector. The first time I saw this I actually said out loud “Shit yeah I want to join via holoprojector!” and sure enough your character appears there in all his or her shimmering blue glory. You can interact with the NPC right alongside your partner. It’s a little touch but believe me when I tell you the game is full of smart little bits like this."

Gabe's in the Friends and Family Beta for the game and he gave some of his other impressions over here...

Casualties of War? Coming soon to SWTOR

So as many of you are aware, Bioware has opened up guild creation for pre-launch guilds in advance of Star Wars: The Old Republic.  One of the ideas is that you can form your guilds and alliances with other guilds.  On launch day, they will try to get everyone who wants to be together (both allies and enemies) on the same servers together.  It’s a good idea I think, especially in light of what happened with past games like Warhammer and, in most recent memory, Rift.  There are often groups that are separated unwillingly because of shifting server populations and other uncontrollable issues (by the players) on launch day.

I am anxious to see how this works out for them.

As far as you and I are concerned, I wanted to let you all know that Casualties of War will be having a SWTOR chapter.  I’ve created the placeholder guild and you can find that at this location.  If you have been a member of Casualties of War, or even if you haven’t, I’d encourage you to head over there and sign up to join us.

We’ll be forging alliances with other guilds to allow us to be together on the same server/shard/whatever they are going to call it.  I hope you will join us!